Texas House to consider 3 border security bills Wednesday
AUSTIN (CBSNewsTexas.com) — On Wednesday, the Texas House will consider three border security bills, including legislation that would spend $1.5 billion for the state to expand its border wall.
State Representative David Spiller (R-Jacksboro) is among the members of the House Appropriations Committee who voted for HB 6. "The Biden administration has had two-and-a-half years to secure our border. They have failed and refused to do that."
Governor Greg Abbott and other Texas leaders have said state taxpayers have spent about $10 billion so far in an effort to secure the southern border.
The governor has been posting videos on social media showing the state's construction efforts to keep migrants from entering the state.
But opponents of the state's border wall, including Jaime Puente from the non-profit group Every Texan, said this week he doesn't believe it will work. "I'm saying we should do it in an effective way. Spending $1.5 billion on a wall is not an effective way to do it."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows more than one million people were detained in Texas during the 2022 fiscal year.
Spiller and other state leaders have also expressed concerns that nearly 170 people who've been detained at the southern border are on the FBI's terror watch list.
Puente said the state should be working with the federal government and not waste state money. "We've spent $10 billion on so-called border security and yet there has been little evidence showing actual deterrence."
When asked if Texas is getting its money's worth in stopping people from crossing the border, Spiller said, "We've got to continue doing what we're doing and thank goodness that we have, because it would be much, much worse than it is."
Lawmakers are also set to consider a bill, HB 4, filed by Rep. Spiller, making it a class B misdemeanor for anyone to enter Texas illegally.
"This bill is not about trying to incarcerate more people or detain more people. If we have folks here, we can turn them back to a port of entry and order them back across," Spiller said.
Opponents have criticized the measure as a "show me your papers" law, but Spiller insisted that's not the case.
Lawmakers are also set to debate a bill, SB 4, that would crack down on illegal stash houses and human smuggling.